Child Trafficking in Armed Conflict – Overlaps with the Six Grave Violations

By Sam Biden – Junior Fellow

20 November, 2024

Introduction

Child trafficking has long been a cause for international concern. With the rise of lawless non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and other criminal enterprises, civilians have somewhat devolved from being regularly protected by warring states during conflict to objects of utility for NSAGs. As a result, trafficking has now irrefutably been linked to the six grave violations against children; killing and maiming, recruitment as soldiers, sexual violence, abduction, the destruction of schools and hospitals as well as the denial of humanitarian aid. While the grave violations are documented as separate actions, a great deal of overlap exists between them, often resulting in children being victims of multiple grave violations simultaneously.

Child Soldiers

Between 2005 and 2022, an estimated 105,000 children were recruited and used in armed conflict around the world. The presence of child soldiers cannot be understated: key NASGs such as The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) from Central Africa allegedly being 90% children and ISIL promoting the use of child soldiers directly, with specific branches of operations being entirely focused on training child soldiers, known as the “Cubs of the Caliphate”. In 2022, NSAGs that used child soldiers operated all across Central Africa and the Middle-East with Cameroon, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan being the most prevalent.

The duties of these children vary wildly – some may be in combat directly while others are bodyguards for outposts or other supporting roles, with the unfortunate few being used as suicide bombers by groups such as ISIL and Boko Haram. One report suggests that this vast usage is predominantly created by NSAGs, with 49 groups being identified as using child soldiers, far higher than the seven states identified. In many cases, the recruitment of these child soldiers appears to align directly with human trafficking requirements. There are the “means” such as recruitment and transfer; the “act” such as bribery, fraud or coercion; and the “purpose” to do military service. Collectively, the means of recruitment that are supplemented by coercion and bribery for the purpose of conducting hostilities, certainly falls within the definition of child trafficking.

Recruitment of children often results from trafficking and abduction directly, with many being coerced physically through violence or with propositions of money, safety and shelter. Three key demographics exist with child soldiers: those that are displaced, those that are abducted or trafficked through poverty, and those who feel obligated. For the displaced, recruitment into an organization that can offer protection, food and water as well as shelter is all too tempting, however this positive picture is often overshadowed by the follow up neglect. Displaced people often flee immediate conflict, such as the destruction of their home and community, regularly resulting in the deaths of loved ones. While many remain within their own state, this exposes them to NSAGs, often those responsible for their own displacement. Poverty acts similarly: a case study on Nigeria revealed that 12% of children who lacked livelihood opportunities and were forced to beg were eventually trafficked or abducted, with a further 22% being approached by people claiming to want to help them often via a false job offer. Obligations occur when there is some form of ethnic, religious or communal tie with the NSAG. Oftentimes, boys will be handed over by their families to these groups as they feel a duty for them to represent what they believe is a genuine authority, especially if family members have been killed by rival forces, only intensifying the need to defend their community. Despite these groups’ differences, treatment at the hands of governments following their release is starkly similar, with many being falsely detained and treated as “security threats” after their release from a NSAG.

Other grave violations have a strong overlap with the use of child soldiers. Killing and maiming unfortunately is commonplace as they are at risk of both being shot or hit by explosives during their service, as well as whatever physical punishments are given by those in charge of their deployment. While some child soldiers feel they owe their community service by joining a NSAG, many children are abducted or trafficked for the sole purpose of combat. For example, the LRA regularly abducts children for indoctrination into their military service, with those who’ve escaped testifying citing strict social isolation, limited communication, intimidation and forceful gendered roles. Similarly, Islamic State is known to have abducted young Yezidi boys for military service during its height in 2014, with many of them struggling to reintegrate back into society after their involuntary service, causing long-term social problems with a lack of support to aid them. Both attacks on hospitals and schools as well as the denial of humanitarian access go hand in hand with exploitive military labor. A pattern of attacks or abuse leads to vulnerability, this vulnerability causes desperation among youth and their families, and the desperation causes many children to seek aid in risky ways such as joining NSAGs or being coerced with false promises of a better livelihood, all potential repercussions from attacks on hospitals and schools with a lack of humanitarian aid. Put simply, these attacks on fundamental institutions leave many youths without education, medical aid, food and water as well as shelter. Even for those in protected shelters, temptation by ill-motivated members of armed groups is all too enticing, resulting in the abduction, trafficking and indoctrination of children through the two grave violations. Similar overlaps can be seen when discussing sexual violence.

Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is the most detected consequence of trafficking as it has a very broad application. Exploitation, prostitution, forced marriages and modern slavery can all contain sexual elements that fall under the banner of sexual violence. For trafficking purposes, the means involves recruitment/transfer, often through bribery and coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation, either commercially through prostitution or internally for those exploiting them. Notably, there is a link between the increased presence of military personnel in high conflict areas, be it governmental or not, and an increased demand for sexual favors in exchange for resources.

Economically vulnerable areas are often targeted for sexual exploitation, with those in refugee camps being among the most likely group to become targeted, with many families feeling they have to trade away their daughters in exchange for money, employment, or protection. As the degree of vulnerability increases, stability of humanitarian aid, employment and shelter becomes sparser, leading to greater levels of desperation and exploitation. A primary example of this are “bush/camp wives”, these are young and often underage women who are often trafficked by a NSAG and then forced into marriage, later being coerced into traditional gender roles, such as being forced to cook, clean and bear children. Many of these wives are raped and sexually abused repeatedly by their husbands in an attempt to further coerce them into their role, sometimes arranged directly by their family members. Vulnerability also plays a key role in forced marriages, with refugee camps and homeless, displaced children being targeted the most, creating a phenomenon called “survival sex”, where they feel coerced into sexual exploitation just to survive. NSAGs are notorious for forced marriages. For example, Boko Haram abducted and trafficked 276 young girls from Chibok for forced marriages, alongside the Yezidi women and children being abducted for forced marriages by Islamic State.

Among the most egregious of sexual exploitation is that of sexual slavery, being formally recognized as a war crime. UNODC defined this as “the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.” Many cases of sexual exploitation turn into sexual slavery, beginning with coercion, segregation and violence, often containing commercial elements. Young women are abducted and segregated from everyone other than their captors, then sexually abused repeatedly and commercialized into prostitution for other members of the group. The commercialization then extends beyond the confines of the group and into the broader market for sexual slavery, with women being trafficked and traded between groups, communities and even to wealthy families from other Gulf states.

The use of sexual violence ties closely to the other grave violations. Firstly, maiming involves the permanent injury done to a person, something commonplace among those forced into marriage and used for sexual slavery, similarly applying to those forced into prostitution. Sexual violence also occurs in abduction/trafficking cases as rape is seen as a weapon against people during conflict, most notably seen in the systemic sexual targeting of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. With the destruction of schools, many female students lack education or are forced to travel dangerous roads to the nearest public school, often roads with high trafficking incidents. Vulnerability plays a key role in the link to education. With many young people having their schools destroyed, in desperate efforts to get an education they put themselves in dangerous situations, and are often approached by strangers who can offer them education and any other necessities they require, creating a vicious cycle of exploitation. Alongside this, the destruction of hospitals results in little healthcare access for young women who’ve been raped and sexually exploited by NGAGs or those who’ve been victims of physical assaults through forced marriages, often leaving them with permanent physical and mental issues.

Role of displacement

While children can be targeted in their local communities, those most at risk are those who are displaced. When their communities are directly affected by conflicts, such as bombings, assaults or raids from armed forces, they are forced to flee to neighboring communities or safe havens established by international bodies, such as refugee camps or humanitarian corridors. This high degree of vulnerability makes them a prime target for NSAGs, who prey on their need for stability as a driving force for entrapment. A study on Nigerian internally displaced persons (IDPs) highlights some of these key vulnerabilities.

First, a lack of livelihood opportunities, represented by an overpopulation of IDPs who begged on the street and claimed to be approached by people offering them sex or employment, often to traffic them. Second, they found that limited access to education plays a vital role in child trafficking, especially as it links to the grave violation of destroying schools and hospitals. 72% of people interviewed for the study reported moderate to high numbers of primary school children not having access to education. For those who can access public schools, dangerous treks, high costs and lack of accompanying adults on their journeys make these children a focal target of traffickers. One camp in Gubio raised concerns over the 4km walk children had to do to the nearest school every day, saying many of the 300 children would flag down cars for transport in high-risk trafficking areas with at least one attempted abduction from that one camp alone. While some can access education through these dangerous journeys, there are those where education outside of their camps isn’t feasible due to the closest schools being targeted by NSAGs, often being destroyed or made dysfunctional. Third, poor shelters caused many parents and children to seek alternative accommodation, often from strangers who would later coerce them for sexual favors or offer employment if they agreed to come with them. Young women were targeted by strange men attempting to sexually exploit them while they slept on the streets in attempts to escape the poor living conditions of the camps. Fourth, a lack of security surrounding the camps resulted in 70% of people claiming there were moderate to high issues with security. On multiple occasions, this resulted in people disappearing and others being abducted due to a lack of personnel on site, many of whom were children. Many people reported internal abductions, where strangers abducted people from inside the camp itself. One example comes from 2018 where three underage girls were kidnapped from inside a camp by men with knives, eventually being rescued from a neighboring camp before they were trafficked to Niger for sexual exploitation.

Conclusion

Child trafficking during conflict continues to represent one of the most heartbreaking human rights issues of our time, with children manipulated into roles and subjected to abuse that deny them the well-being they deserve. Driven by displacement and systemic insecurity, these children often face a cycle of violence and exploitation that causes lifelong suffering, often at the expense of furthering a NSAGs cause. The global community has a moral imperative to intervene further on behalf of these children, promoting peace and justice over exploitation and conflict. Ending these violations requires a focused international effort that goes beyond emergency aid and addresses the roots of the problem.

Image source: Collectie Stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen via CC BY-SA 3.0